Hello! This will be a longer update than usual… please read the entire message to get all the info! As you likely know, our shamanic drum & journey circle will be this Friday, October 23, from 7pm -10pm or so. This month, we will celebrate Ancestors as our main intent for the evening! We will be primarily outside, at a different location than usual — the W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp — located near Waterford, Wisconsin. This park location has a fire pit, outdoor toilets, and an unheated barn.
While I’m really happy and excited to celebrate an Ancestor-themed Circle with you, I have to admit that I do have a concern that I want to share: we are most certainly not out of the woods with this virus yet. In fact, our community is seeing another uptick in new infections. So, as in months prior, I’m going to be mandating masks for everyone and social distancing with folks whom you are not already intimate with. Please consider this an act of compassion and service to others, if you have an ideological conflict with wearing a mask. Also, please do not come if you feel ill, have a cough, or have a fever of 100.2 or more. Also, if you are immunocompromised, I would encourage you not to join us at this time. Instead, I invite you to meet in Circle in November, January, February, and March when we circle via Zoom… so you may still participate, but from a much safer perspective.
With all of that in mind, I’m going to be setting things up to be as COVID-conscious as possible. For instance, I’ll have new, unused mini hand sanitizer bottles, black pens, and a handful of journals that you can use and take home with you. However, I want to say, that, if at any time during the evening you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, please don’t hesitate to do what you need to do, including leaving the Circle early. No one will judge you for it, I promise!
So, because COVID, I’m going to try to have us be outside as much as possible during the evening. Temperatures could get as low as the 30’s-40’s, so despite there being a fire, you’ll still likely be cold unless you prepare to dress very warmly. I encourage you to bundle up as if you’re going to a December Green Bay Packers game at Lambeau Field! For example, if you have a sleeping bag, bring it. Hats, boots, gloves, blankets, snowmobile suits… all fair game to bring to this Circle.
INTENTION FOR THE CIRCLE - As I mentioned, this Circle will be Ancestor-focused. This is the time to bring your family ancestral mementos to put on our community ancestor altar! Pictures, trinkets, jewelry, icons, dishes… whatever you have that reminds you of a loved one that has passed… is all welcome to be placed on the shared altar space. If you want to honor and remember more than one ancestor, or, say, a family pet, please feel free to bring pictures of them, too. (Don’t worry — you’ll take your mementos home with you, again, at the end of the night.) As those who’ve attended past October Circles can attest, seeing the community altar filled with lovingly placed Ancestor mementos is quite heart-warming. Also, if you have handy a small amount of whatever favorite herb, plant, flower, or maybe some other favorite taste/smell (like chocolate or perfume sprayed on paper) of an ancestor, you can bring it to put it on the altar and then burn it in the fire as an offering later in the evening, if you’d like. I’m also hoping that we all can share a story about the ancestor(s) we’re honoring during our time in Circle, too.
Other things you’ll want to consider bringing (besides your mask, warm clothing, and ancestral items): your drum or other music maker; a chair; a bottle of water; snacks; journal & pen; and flashlight. I will not be bringing extra drums or rattles to this Circle.
LOCATION — This event is located near the Rochestor/Tichigan/Burlington/Waterford area of Wisconsin. It is about 40 minutes due West of Racine and about 40 minutes SW of Bay View/Milwaukee. The location is W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp at 2716 Buena Park Road in Rochester. (The official address is 2701-2729 Buena Park Road, Waterford, WI) Please note that when you make one of the final turns toward the park, you’ll see a large water tower with the word “Waterford” on it… you’re headed to the right place! Also note that Ela Avenue turns into Buena Park Road… and the W.R. Wadewitz Nature Camp is really near the corner of where those two street names merge. Turn into the park entrance and take the road past the building and back into the parking area. Park anywhere in the parking lot and walk toward the back of the building down to where you’ll see a fire. We will have signs for navigation and will try to have some candles lit along the path for you. But, I do encourage you to bring a flashlight, as it will be dark by 7pm.
Looking forward to seeing you in Circle,
Holly